Value Research

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT VALUE RESEARCH - PAGE 4

Definition: Grade can be defined as the rating based on a particular attribute of a mutual fund. A return grade is defined as a quality rating of the stock or the bond based on the returns it offers to the investor and is used for the risk-return profile assessment. Description: Return is one of the most important aspects in the assessment of a mutual fund. Agencies like Value Research, Morningstar etc provide return grades for various commodities , stocks and funds.

By Dhirendra Kumar, CEO, Value Research Till now, mutual fund advertising in India has typically devoted a greater area to statutory warnings than cigarette advertising used to, or liquor advertising does in parts of the world where it's allowed. It isn't unusual as up to 40% of print advertising is devoted to warnings and disclosures of one kind or another. Now, finally, market regulator Sebi has rationalised and simplified the regulations pertaining to such advertising.

Value Research Investing for Son For my elder son (23-year old), I am investing Rs 4,000 monthly in BSL Frontline Equity, HDFC Equity, ICICI Prudential Dynamic and Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund. And for my younger son (18-year), I am investing in IDFC Premier Equity, HDFC Top 200, and Reliance Regular Savings Equity. Are these funds good enough? --Mayur Shah Both the portfolios are well diversified and made of highly rated funds with a proven track record.

NEW DELHI: Those investing in stock markets through mutual funds may have a reason to rejoice, as losses suffered in January-March period pale before the huge positive returns in the previous three quarters, a report said. According to an analysis by Value Research, a mutual fund tracking firm, the 'diversified equity' schemes that are most popular among investors lost an average of 28.3 per cent in the past three months period. However, over the period of one year, fund performance has remained strong and the losses of the last quarter have not come even close to wiping out the previous three quarters gains, the report said.

NEW DELHI: The mutual fund industry is sitting on cash reserves of Rs 7,043 crore for July. This is 6% lower than the Rs 7,490-crore cash reserves in June. Analysts feel that the industry is sitting on these reserves as it is waiting for a better buying opportunity. "Most fund houses are expecting better buying opportunities in the next one month and are holding on to their reserves," said Dhirendra Kumar, CEO, Value Research. According to the data provided by Value Research, on a total asset base of Rs 84,500 crore, the average cash reserves is about 7% for the industry.

PUNE: General Insurance Corporation (GIC) has decided to exit its mutual fund arm, GIC Mutual Fund, to focus on core reinsurance operations. According to GIC chairman PC Ghosh, the move stems from an internal decision to quit non-core areas. However, the national reinsurer has decided to keep its housing finance arm, GIC Housing Finance (GICHF), intact. GIC Asset Management Company (GICAMC), which has Rs 302 crore as assets under management, was floated by GIC, GIC Housing Finance, New India Insurance, United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance Company, and the US-based George Soros, who holds a 40 per cent stake in the company.

The strategy is so simple that it almost appears unbelievable. All you need to do is set up SIPs in different types of funds based on your desired asset allocation. A young investor with an aggressive risk appetite can invest in a clutch of diversified equity funds to save for his golden years. As he grows older, and his risk appetite wanes, he can reduce the exposure to equities. As a middle-aged person, he can opt for less volatile balanced funds. The problem is that this does not happen automatically.

NEW DELHI: Investments by Life Insurance Corporation of India to bail out some of the government's bigticket share sale in state-owned enterprises have lost Rs5,170 crore, or almost a quarter, in value. The country's largest financial institution had to pick up close to 70% of the government's combined equity offerings in NTPC, NMDC and ONGC because foreign institutional investors as well as local private sector fund houses were put off by the high floor price. Since LIC is a long-term investor that largely dips into funds of traditional insurance policies to subscribe to stocks sold in government's divestment programme, it is spared of mark-to-market (or MTM)

By Dhirendra Kumar, Founder & CEO, Value Research A few days ago, we interviewed an American investment manager. Thomas A. Russo runs a hedge fund named Gardner Russo . He is also a wellknown practitioner of value investing and has a rare 25-year track record of beating the S&P 500 index by an average of 4.7 percentage points annually from 1984 to 2011. How does one buy vegetables? Says Russo: 'When one looks to buy a head of cabbage, one looks to the leaves, to their colour, their feel, their appearance, their smell, their touch and any number of other variables, all of which collectively inform us whether or not we are getting our money's worth when we shop for vegetables.

By Dhirendra Kumar About four years ago, I wrote about real estate developers promising fairly high, assured returns to those who bought in their projects. The returns were in the range of 12-15%, and the word used in advertisements was 'guaranteed'. In India, it's practically impossible for anyone but the government to legally offer guaranteed or assured returns from financial products. Even public sector bank deposits are theoretically not guaranteed, though in practice they usually are. However, real estate developers claim to be immune to any uncertainty.